MOI to present report on vote-buying
　

LOCAL ELECTIONS: DPP officials complained yesterday that security measures for President Ma on his trips to campaign for KMT candidates were disruptive and unfair
　

By Loa Iok-sin and Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTERS, WITH CNA
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 1

The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said yesterday it would give a progress report on vote-buying cases linked to Saturday’s local government elections at the legislature today, an announcement that drew mixed reactions.

The pan-blue camp said it hoped the ministry would increase its efforts to expose illegal campaign practices, while pan-greens doubted the effectiveness of the crackdown.

The ministry said the authorities uncovered 701 people involved in 101 cases of vote-buying between Sept. 1 and Thursday, as well as 39 people connected with 27 cases of election-related violence.

During this period, the ministry said it mobilized 108,791 police officers and 9,181 civilians nationwide to uncover vote-buying. It also mobilized 172 police officers to provide personal protection to 124 candidates and their families.

The ministry said more than 20,000 police officers would be deployed to maintain order at the polls and deal with emergencies on election day.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Policy Committee chief executive Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the numbers were not as important as what the public feels about the government’s efforts to reduce vote-buying. He said he hoped the ministry would increase its efforts during the final week of the campaign.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Policy Committee chief executive Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the vote-buying situation was very severe. The fact that the number of vote-buying cases dramatically exceed the numbers reported by the ministry shows that the KMT administration has not fully dedicated itself to uncovering vote-buying, he said.

Meanwhile, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) panned President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday over heightened security measures on his trips to campaign for KMT candidates in his role as KMT chairman, saying the security efforts inconvenienced the public.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that as Ma’s convoy was rushing from Hsinchu County to Taipei’s Songshan Airport for a flight to Chiayi for a campaign event, a loudspeaker was used to tell cars ahead of the convoy to stay clear of the passing lane. At the time, the section of the freeway was completely jammed because of an accident, the report said.

“Ma is trying to help candidates from his party get elected, but heightened security measures are defeating that purpose, because they cause inconvenience to the public and unequal competition,” Tsai said in Nantou County as she campaigned for the DPP’s candidate for the Nantou legislative by-election.

“This will only upset voters and result in a loss of support [for KMT candidates],” she said.

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), meanwhile, urged Ma to stop “acting like an emperor making inspection tours.”

“Nobody would say anything if he had been equally anxious to help the victims when Typhoon Morakot,” Hsieh said. “But he acted like he was on vacation back then. He is only so anxious when campaigning for his party’s candidates.”

Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) apologized for the inconvenience caused by the presidential convoy. He said the convoy had driven in the passing lane rather than the shoulder because the shoulder was narrower and could have been more dangerous to use.

Security measures for Ma during his campaign trips have caused controversy before.

Last Tuesday, police and National Security Bureau agents blocked DPP Hsinchu County commissioner candidate Peng Shao-chin (彭紹瑾) and his supporters from using a street that Ma and KMT commissioner candidate Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) were going to parade along. Peng’s supporters protested and the two sides clashed. A reporter on the scene also alleged the police harassed him ahead of Ma’s arrival.

In other election-related developments, the KMT said yesterday it would focus its efforts on winning in Yilan and Hsinchu counties on Saturday.

Ma, Vice Premier Eric Chu (周立倫) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) visited Yilan County last night to campaign for Yilan County Commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華), who is running for re-election. The trio have become known as “Ma-li-chiang” (“high horsepower,” 馬立強) for being the three most popular members of the party.

Ma will visit both Yilan and Hsinchu counties later this week to campaign for Lu and Hsinchu County commissioner candidate Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).

“Chairman Ma will spend more time in Yilan and Hsinchu this week to secure victory in the two counties,” KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) said.

The KMT took Yilan County from the DPP four years ago, and the party is sparing no effort to try and win in Yilan, which had been governed by the DPP for 24 years.

Chiu faces competition from independent candidate Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴), who left the KMT to run, and has received support from Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金).

Ma visited Yunlin County yesterday to campaign for KMT candidate Wu Wei-chi (吳威志) amid protests from DPP supporters upset by police and security officials blocking the roads to pave the way for Ma.

Ignoring the protest, Ma accused Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of involvement in corruption scandals, and called on supporters to vote for Wu.

“Yunlin deserves a change, and the county will only be better if it changes the commissioner and the party,” the president said.

The Dec. 5 vote will be the first major election to cover all parts of the country since Ma took office in May last year.

Baseball fans rally to save ailing sport
　

DISBANDED TEAMS: Fans of teams that were disbanded in the past for game fixing scandals took part in the rally to demand that the government act quickly to fix baseball
　

By Shelley Shan
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 2
　

About 800 fans of professional baseball staged a parade rally around the Presidential Office yesterday to urge the government to hold a national baseball conference to save the nation’s favorite sport.

Holding placards and signs, fans met on Ketagalan Boulevard yesterday afternoon to shout slogans such as “mobsters out, baseball in” and “support prosecutors catching the mobsters” as they marched.

Arriving at Ketagalan Boulevard, the fans reiterated their appeal to the government.

Baseball commentator Charles Yang (楊清瓏), a former player in the Golden Dragon Little Baseball Team, recalled how his team received a heroic welcome when they won the US Little League Championship in 1969.

“Now fans have to go on to the street to save the national sport,” Yang said. “The game-fixing scandal has done severe damage to baseball. As a man of baseball, I am embarrassed and hope that players can control themselves. Meanwhile, the government should prevent mobsters from manipulating the results of professional baseball games.”

“Baseball fans should root for their teams on the field, not have to go on the street and protest,” commentator Tseng Wen-cheng (曾文誠) said. “I hope the government can solve the game’s problems.”

The organizer hosted a similar rally on Nov. 1, which was attended mostly by fans of the Brother Elephants. In the parade yesterday, however, fans of disbanded teams including the Wei Chuan Dragons (味全龍) and Chinatrust Whales (中信鯨), also attended. Many of them vented their anger over game-­fixing scandals.

“I was first a fan of the Dragons and then the Whales,” one angry fan said. “When the Whales said last year they were out, can you imagine how we felt?”

A man surnamed Luo (羅) said he was a fan of the Chinatrust Whales. He said the rally yesterday was to bring out more baseball fans to urge the government to address the issue immediately.

“Baseball is a valuable asset to Taiwan. It has accomplished much more than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said, while pointing at the ministry building.

The organizer invited celebrities such as New York Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民) and First Lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青), but neither attended the parade yesterday. Wang, however, expressed his support for the campaign through his agent. On Friday, the organizer delivered a petition and an official invitation for the first lady to the Presidential Office.

Wu Chun-che (吳俊哲), director of the Competitive Athletics Department at the Sports Affairs Council, said the council was determining an agenda for a national baseball conference.

Representatives from fan clubs would also be invited, Wu said.

Hau accepts apology by ‘Apple Daily,’ but continues to monitor
　

By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 2

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday accepted an apology by the Chinese-language Apple Daily for causing controversy with the content of its ­News-­In-Motion feature, but said the city government would continue monitoring its content.

The newspaper ran a statement yesterday apologizing over the controversial news content of News-In-Motion, saying it started rating its news content on Saturday.

Apple Daily also canceled plans to file a lawsuit against Hau and the city government for banning the newspaper at municipal schools.

Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) said the city government expected the Apple Daily to fulfill its promise, adding that it would ask the National Communications Commission to determine whether the newspaper’s rating system met regulations.

“The Taipei City Government respects the freedom of the press. We took the measures against the newspaper in order to protect children and teenagers,” she said.

The Hau administration gave Next Media Ltd, publisher of the Apple Daily, two fines totaling NT$1 million (US$31,000) for publishing sensational content in violation of media classification regulations in the Children and Juveniles Welfare Act (兒童及青少年福利法).

The city government also ordered all schools in the city to cancel their subscriptions to the newspaper because it contained a barcode enabling free downloads of News-in-Motion clips to cellphones.

The Apple Daily — owned by Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英) — launched News-In-Motion last week as part of a trial run before the Apple Group expands into TV.

The service is accessible only to readers who pay a fee.

Chen facing new set of indictments
　

MORE CHARGES: The Special Investigation Panel said it would soon summon former China Development Financial Holding Corp chairman Angelo Koo for questioning
　

By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 3

Prosecutors investigating former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) alleged money-laundering activities yesterday said they were close to concluding their investigation and delivering another round of indictments to the former first family and businesspeople involved in the case.

Special Investigation Panel (SIP) spokesperson Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said the panel had recently questioned several witnesses and defendants suspected of helping the former first family launder money and it would soon summon former China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) president Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩) for questioning.

Koo and China Development Financial chief financial officer Sherie Chiu (邱德馨), both of whom have been named as defendants in the money-laundering case, allegedly helped former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) transfer US$600,000 and NT$34 million (US$1 million) from a Taiwanese account in the name of Wu’s elder brother Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂) to the family’s accounts in Singapore and the Netherlands between 2003 and 2005.

In 2004, Wu Shu-jen allegedly gave Koo US$1 million and asked him to transfer the money to Wu Ching-mao’s and her son Chen Chih-chung’s (陳致中) foreign accounts, prosecutors said.

Another person being investigated on suspicion of helping the former first family launder funds is former China Steel Corp chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵). Lin, who was also named as a defendant in the investigation, was in charge of Chen Shui-bian’s campaign funds during the 2000 presidential election.

Prosecutors said Lin allegedly helped the former first family buy two pieces of real estate in 2007, then profited to the tune of tens of millions of NT dollars by selling off the properties.

Other defendants who have been questioned and may soon receive indictments include Yuanta Financial Holding Co president Victor Ma (馬維建), former Yuanta Securities Corp (元大證券) board member Tu Li-ping (杜麗萍) and chairwoman Judy Tu (杜麗莊), Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂) and his wife Chen Chun-ying (陳俊英), as well as Chen Shui-bian’s son Chen Chih-chung and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚).

In related news, the panel has petitioned that the Taiwan High Court try Chen Chih-chung, Chen Shui-bian’s daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) and his son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) for corruption in conjunction with perjury charges.

The three were suspected of corruption by district court judges, who had requested prosecutorial action.

Prosecutors said they petitioned for the cases to be combined at the High Court based on the principle of double jeopardy which protects defendants from being tried or punished twice for the same crime.

Cross-strait detente fails to impress firms, academics
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 3

Before his visit to Taiwan last November, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) apologized in Beijing for the panic that spread among Taiwanese consumers two months previously after China had admitted that a shipment of 25 tonnes of milk powder in June last year contained traces of the industrial chemical melamine.

Following the talks, both sides signed four agreements addressing direct sea links, daily charter flights, direct postal services and food safety.

At the time, Union Chemical Industrial Corp had high hopes of receiving compensation from its Chinese suppliers of creamer and milk powder. A year has passed and the company says it has given up hope of compensation.

Twelve Taiwanese firms have asked for NT$700 million (US$21 million) in compensation from Duqing, the Chinese supplier of the contaminated non-dairy creamer, and from Sanlu, the now-bankrupt dairy firm that also sold melamine-contaminated milk powder.

So far, China has not responded to Taiwan’s requests for compensation.

A Department of Health (DOH) document obtained by the Taipei Times showed that the DOH filed a request for compensation on Dec. 26 last year via the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

On July 28 this year, the DOH asked the SEF to relay a letter to ARATS asking it to find out how local Chinese governments involved in the case had handled their compensation requests and to agree to issue compensation to Taiwanese importers even if the levels of melamine in the products did not exceed China’s standards, but exceeded Taiwan’s.

The DOH also provided related information, hoping that the SEF and ARATS would urge Chinese suppliers to take responsibility.

The SEF sent the letter on Aug. 17, but China has yet to reply.

Lin Ching-lien (林經聯), a manager at Union Chemical, said the company’s losses had been estimated at about NT$10 million, including the costs of storing and destroying the contaminated products.

Lin said the firm originally thought it would be able to return the products and obtain refunds, but the firm was asked to destroy the products. They were banned from selling the products as fertilizer because that would have violated the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), he said.

“There is nothing we can do,” he said. “Our government does not seem to be doing enough for us.”

Another manager at the company, who preferred to be identified as Mr Chang, said it was not worth saying anything about the issue.

“If the government can only handle things this way, is there anything else we can do?” he said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) has been tracking China’s handling of the melamine controversy. Chen Ming-sheng (陳明生), an assistant to Tien, said most companies that fell victim to melamine-contaminated products have given up hope of compensation and decided to keep quiet.

“They hesitate to be vocal about their losses because they don’t want to put their credibility on the line again,” he said. “Besides, it takes time, money and effort to take their case to court.”

Taiwan and China have signed nine agreements and a joint statement since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May last year and made aggressive efforts to resume bilateral talks.

In June last year, both sides agreed to weekend charter flights and raised tourist quotas, one of Ma’s campaign promises. Ma promised to allow 3,000 Chinese tourists per day in the initial stages, with the number increasing to 10,000 per day within four years.

Statistics made public by the Tourism Bureau, however, show a different story.

While the government wanted to see the number of Chinese tourists increase to 3,000 per day this year, the average is only 1,300. Taiwanese tourists visiting China number 11,987 per day.

While the government hoped to see Chinese tourists generate revenues of NT$60 billion in the first year, the figure was recorded at NT$32.8 billion.

Apart from food safety, the Ma administration hoped to see daily charter flights generate business opportunities of NT$1 billion per year. Statistics from the Civil Aeronautics Administration show that the volume of goods transported last year at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport contracted by 7 percent, while the volume of goods transported at Kaohsiung International Airport contracted by 11 percent.

Between January and August this year, the number of flights from the country’s airports fell by 11.14 percent, the number of passengers fell by 7.01 percent and volume of goods transported dropped by 24.19 percent.

In June this year, the two sides signed three agreements on the launch of regular cross-strait passenger flights, financial cooperation, as well as mutual judicial assistance and cross-strait cooperation on fighting crime. A consensus was also reached on opening Taiwan to Chinese investment.

As of May this year, China-bound investment amounted to US$77.1 billion, Investment Commission figures showed. Unofficial figures, however, placed it between US$150 billion and US$200 billion.

Statistics from the Investment Commission showed that Chinese investment in Taiwan had totaled just NT$189 million since the measures were implemented. Even Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said there had been “a gap” between the actual amount and the anticipated figure.

Meanwhile, six months after judicial assistance and joint efforts to fight crime were implemented, only five out of 85 fugitives wanted by Taiwan have been sent back. None of them white-collar criminals.

The fourth round of talks are scheduled to be held in Taichung City next month. Both sides have agreed to “exchange opinions” on an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) during the upcoming talks.

Lin Cho-shui (林濁水), a former DPP legislator turned political commentator, said the past year has proven that the Ma administration’s economic and cross-strait policies were a “joke.”

“Their theory is based on the concept that China is a rising giant and as long as we take full advantage of the Chinese market, we don’t have to worry about the impact caused by the global financial crisis,” he said.

As the Ma administration seeks to sign an ECFA with Beijing, Lin said he expected Beijing to continue to block other countries from signing free-trade agreements (FTA) with Taiwan. That would further marginalize Taiwan and lure it into China’s trap.

Lin Kien-tsu (林健次), a professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute and Department of International Trade, said the agreements and consensus signed over the past year have showed the government’s inadequacy when negotiating with Beijing.

“The administration seems to be trapped in a tangled web. They have no idea where the bottom line is and what the best alternatives are,” he said.

Lin Kien-tsu urged the administration to sign an FTA with the US and Japan in tandem with the ECFA.

Tu Jenn-hwa (杜震華), a social science professor at National Taiwan University, said while he agreed an ECFA would make Taiwan more dependent on China, he did not think economic reliance would lead to political integration.

“Taiwan is not the only one [country] depending on China. The whole world is,” he said.

Tu said it would take more time to see concrete results and that the Ma administration must map out supplementary plans to go with the accords.

The beef referendum is necessary
　

By Yu Ying-fu 尤英夫
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 8

A referendum proposal on US beef launched by civic groups including the Consumers’ Foundation, the Homemakers’ Union and Foundation, the John Tung Foundation and the National Health Insurance Surveillance Alliance has passed the first application threshold and is proceeding to the second stage.

The proposed referendum suggests rejecting the Department of Health’s decision to allow imports of US bone-in beef, ground beef, bovine internal organs, spinal cord, etc, starting today. It further seeks to reopen negotiations with the US over beef imports.

For the referendum application to proceed, its proponents must collect the signatures of 5 percent of the total number of people who were eligible to vote in the most recent presidential election.

Gathering the signatures of hundreds of thousands of people across the country is no simple feat. As a lawyer, I have experience handling consumer complaints, for example against the Taipei City Government’s bus office and Eastern Multimedia Group.

I helped distribute official signature forms for the present proposal for a referendum on US beef. But based on my past experience, I am concerned that the signature drive will fail.

The proposed referendum says that the protocol on US beef imports signed by Taiwan and the US in Washington on Oct. 22 allows imports of bone-in beef, ground beef, processed beef products not contaminated with specific risk materials, central nervous system parts and meat scraps stripped by machine from cows less than 30 months old.

This deal sparked fear among consumers, while pan-blue and pan-green politicians have opposed the protocol, as have several county and city governments.

The government’s decision to relax restrictions on the import of bone-in beef, internal organs and other beef products from the US despite documented cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also called mad cow disease) there — and political meddling by the government and the National Security Council in the decisions of experts at the health department are not appropriate in a democracy.

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say that treatment for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which is caused by abnormal prions from infected meat, cannot be cured. There is no treatment to slow or halt the course of the disease. Anyone infected with vCJD is on the road to inevitable death.

The only way to be sure of not getting the illness is to avoid eating beef products from BSE-affected countries.

To this day there have been no cases of the abnormal prion in Taiwan. Once in Taiwan, however, how would Taiwan get rid of it?

The government insists that US bone-in beef is safe, yet when the Ministry of Audit delivered a report on Oct. 27 to the legislature on the central government’s final account for last year, Auditor-General Lin Ching-long (林慶隆) said that, as of last year, the health department did not have enough personnel, funding or equipment to inspect and test US beef imports.

Furthermore, the prion can escape detection by specialized tests. This is because concentrations of the prion in certain body parts are so low that no technology exists that can guarantee that meat is free of it.

The prion’s presence can only be detected within six months of the onset of BSE. Cows less than 30 months old may be in the incubation stage of the illness, making the prion undetectable.

Health authorities have no way of guaranteeing that US beef is free of the disease, so assurances that consumers will be protected are nothing but empty talk.

Since the government is not capable of effectively testing imported beef, it should not have relaxed restrictions. Doing so puts consumers at risk.

This is a matter of consumer rights and a question of life or death for us and for future generations.

If not enough people sign the petition for this referendum proposal, Taiwan will be an object of disdain for the South Koreans. At least the South Koreans took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands to fight imports of US beef.

Yu Ying-fu is a lawyer.

Is the US marginalizing Taiwan?
　

By Emerson Chang 張子揚
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 8

‘If Obama approves arms sales to Taiwan after he returns to the US, the US government’s policy would appear to be inconsistent.’

US President Barack Obama’s first visit to China caused a dispute between Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties over whether it resulted in an upgrade or a downgrade of US-Taiwan relations.

In my opinion, the structure, wording and spirit of the US-China joint statement issued by Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) imply the removal of certain aspects previously accentuated in the US “one China” policy. My reasons are as follows:

First, according to a US Congressional Research Service report released in August, the “one China” policy as reflected in the three joint Sino-US communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the six assurances of former US president Ronald Reagan’s administration maintained that the US does not recognize the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, wants a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue and wants to maintain a cross-strait military balance.

However, Obama and Hu said in their joint statement that “the fundamental principle of respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is at the core of the three U.S.-China joint communiques.”

In Chinese, “sovereignty and territorial integrity” is a term related to China’s “Anti-Secession” Law and slogans like “contain Taiwan independence secessionist forces.” The joint statement was tantamount to saying that the US respects China’s opposition to Taiwanese independence.

Obama’s statement has caused more harm than former US president Bill Clinton’s policy of not supporting Taiwanese independence. It also ignored former US president George W. Bush’s reasons for opposing the “Anti-Secession” Law.

In addition, the statement violated a stipulation in the TRA that “any non-peaceful means to determine Taiwan’s future is considered a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific.”

Obama’s statement does not tally with the US policy that the Taiwan issue should be resolved by peaceful means.

Second, although the joint statement did not explicitly say that Obama made concessions to China, it is noteworthy that he “commended the outcomes of the visit to the United States by General Xu Caihou [徐才厚], vice chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, in October this year,” and stated that “they will take concrete steps to advance sustained and reliable military-to-military relations in the future.”

Xu’s US visit marked the resumption of China-US military exchanges, which were unilaterally suspended by China after Bush’s approval of arms sales to Taiwan in October last year.

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense said that during a visit to US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Xu was quoted as saying that the US arms deal with Taiwan was a major obstacle to China-US relations. If not properly handled, this would severely impact on relations between the two countries, Xu reportedly said.

Obama’s praise for Xu in the joint statement indirectly suggests that he recognized Xu’s stance on the matter.

If Obama approves arms sales to Taiwan after he returns to the US, he will put the US government in the predicament of policy inconsistency.

It would also be hard for China-US exchanges and cooperation to continue as proposed in the joint statement, and this would have a negative impact on Obama’s reputation and credibility.

Third, from a structural perspective of the joint statement, it was only after the US adjusted the emphasis of the “one China” policy and recognized Xu’s contribution that it was able to establish the foundation necessary to “steadily grow a partnership between the two countries” and further build a consensus on military exchanges, strategic cooperation and regional integration in response to global challenges.

All this indicates that China has secured a significant victory on the Taiwan issue and has made great gains in terms of Sino-US relations.

Obama’s intention to postpone US arms sales to Taiwan has also become clearer, while relaxed cross-strait relations provide Obama with a pretext for temporarily freezing an arms deal with Taiwan.

When asked by students in Shanghai to clarify his stance on arms sales to Taiwan, the US president said he was happy to see an improvement in cross-strait relations and hoped they would continue to improve.

Later, at a joint press conference in Beijing, Obama reiterated that cross-strait detente is in line with US interests. In other words, Obama believes the new cross-strait relationship is moving toward a peaceful and stable development and therefore meets US interests.

The implicit significance of all this is that the US has no intention of breaking the “status quo,” and does not believe that selling arms to Taiwan is either imperative or urgent.

In the face of these developments, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his government should not be overly optimistic. Instead, they must respond cautiously to Taiwan’s strategic marginalization by the US and China.

Emerson Chang is director of the Department of International Studies at Nan Hua University.

The crisis after the Obama-Hu statement
　

By Lai I-chung 賴怡忠
Monday, Nov 30, 2009, Page 8

The joint statement issued by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and US President Barack Obama on Nov. 17 was cause for concern. Taiwan was further marginalized in the triangle of relations between Taiwan, the US and China and is now in an unprecedented predicament. Taiwan must amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to state that “cross-strait agreements shall be decided by public referendum.”

That is the only way for a united Taiwan to deal with the enormous pressure for political talks this nation can now expect from Hu.

The joint statement did not mention the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) — which governs Washington’s Taiwan policy — but did mention the three Sino-US joint communiques.

territorial integrity

The statement also treated China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as the core of the three communiques and changed Washington’s “one China policy” into a “one China principle.”

Obama even publicly supported Hu’s request for Taiwan to start cross-strait political talks soon.

The US’ promises to Taiwan weakened and Washington violated its 1982 “six assurances” to Taiwan by endorsing cross-strait political talks.

With Obama’s endorsement, Hu is expected to pile on the pressure to achieve his dream of creating an irreversible framework for unification before he steps down in 2012.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his government have said Taiwan will sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China in March, even though its contents remain unclear.

COMING SOON?

Hu said recently that Taiwan cannot avoid political negotiations with China, meaning that such talks are likely to be on the table soon after an ECFA is inked.

Judging from his sophistication and deviousness, Hu will ask that Taiwan make a commitment during the signing process to pave the way for political talks and an agenda for a possible Ma-Hu meeting in 2011.

Just a week before the Hu-Obama meeting, China sent a large delegation of academics to Taiwan.

Their tough stance on unification indicates that Beijing was aware of Washington’s support for cross-strait political talks in advance. In the face of both the former’s oppression and the latter’s push, Taipei is facing a crisis: Political talks seem inevitable.

The situation today is even more critical than it was in 1979, when the US established diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China.

The US and China are now cooperating to lead Taiwan to the slaughter.

The only solution is to strengthen the nation’s democratic mechanisms as soon as possible and give the public substantial power to decide its future.

PIVOTAL POINT

This is a pivotal moment. Taiwan must amend the Referendum Act and build a consensus on the need for cross-strait decisions to be made by the public through plebiscites.

Referendums on this would endow the public with a right that reaches beyond the blue-green divide to have their say on the nation’s future.

They would also be an effective tool to unite the public and build a domestic consensus on crucial matters.

If Taiwan does not amend the Referendum Act and put cross-strait agreements to referendums, it will find itself squeezed between China and the US into a difficult and irreversible situation.

Lai I-chung is an executive member of Taiwan Thinktank.